NY Considers Transgender Anti-Discrimination Bill

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A year after New York lawmakers legalized gay marriage, the next civil rights debate in Albany takes on discrimination against transgender New Yorkers.

They say they face discrimination in employment, housing and public treatment because they stray from accepted male and female norms in dress and behavior.

A pending bill, approved by the state Assembly last week, adds gender identity and gender expression to laws banning discrimination based on race, religion, sex, disability and sexual orientation. It would become a hate crime, with increased penalties, to harass or attack someone for being transgender.

Sixteen states have similar anti-discrimination laws.

The Democrat-controlled Assembly has passed the Gender Expression and Non-Discrimination Act, or GENDA, five times. The Senate has sent it to the Rules committee where it appears to be shelved.